1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric lighter with an ignition system adapted to prevent minor children, especially under the age of 5 years, from igniting the lighter, as well as preventing accidental and unintentional ignition by adults.
2. Background Art
In the past decade, disposable lighters using a piezoelectric mechanism have increasingly become common in the cigarette lighter industry. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has recognized that disposable lighters present an unacceptable danger to the public as a result of over 100 deaths resulting from accidental fires caused by minor children handling cigarette lighters in the home. As a result, the Commission has implemented regulations requiring child safety devices on all disposable cigarette lighters.
Various measures to prevent accidental and unintentional ignition of piezoelectric and other cigarette lighters by increasing the difficulty of activation, i.e., ignition, have been employed. In both the push down (i.e. vertical depression) and slide down (i.e., pivotable) type of ignition devices, a common method has been the use of ignition mechanisms that must be unlocked before ignition can occur. These inventions use various means to block, i.e., lock, the ignition device and require at least two separate and/or simultaneous manipulations to unlock and initiate the ignition process. Examples of such mechanisms are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,531,591; 5,439,375; 5,645,414; 5,584,682; 5,636,979; 6,200,130; 6,206,689; 6,299,434; 6,382,960; and 6,386,860. The disadvantage of these child safe devices are several. The devices are relatively complex in structure and require a number of component parts, thereby increasing the frequency of breakdowns of the locking device. If the child safe aspect of the lighter is lost, the lighter can be ignited accidentally and by children. Also, lighters with lock devices that must be manipulated separately or simultaneously with an activation device are awkward and more difficult to operate than child resistant lighters that require only one manipulation to achieve both objectives.
Another child resistant method used with the push down type of lighter is the use of activating mechanism that require the use of force (thumb pressure) that is normally beyond the ability of minor children to employ (at least 10 lbs of force). An example of such a mechanism (utilizing springs located within the activating device and or the gas release assembly) is illustrated In U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,582.
However, since springs lose their tension over time and use, and require a consistent calibration in production to maintain quality control, this method has serious drawbacks in maintaining a lighter""s child resistant condition and is more costly to produce.
There is, however, a need for additional techniques of making piezoelectric lighters safe from manipulation by children and accidental ignition, while accommodating and conforming the endless number of creative styles and novel constructions of cigarette lighters.
The present invention provides a child resistant, safety device that combines both of the commonly employed concepts described abovexe2x80x94an activating device that must be unlocked and one that requires force beyond the normal capabilities of minor children or mere accidental pressure. However, the use of a locking or latch element or similar parts is dispensed with, as well as the reliance on springs to provide resistance to activation. Rather, both objectives are achieved by the present invention by means of a simplified, integrally molded child resistant activating device adapted to a piezoelectric lighter with a standard means of gas release and piezoelectric ignition. Moreover, the present invention is user-friendly since it is operated in the conventional and traditional mannerxe2x80x94by continuous downward pressure of the thumbxe2x80x94and does not require two or more digital manipulations to unlock and then ignite the lighter.
The object of this invention is to provide a piezoelectric cigarette lighter that is resistant to operation by minor children, that is safe from accidental and unintentional ignition, and that can be operated by intended users in the conventional manner. Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention over the prior art are:
a) To provide a child resistant activation device that must be unlocked before ignition takes place and also requires force beyond that which can be employed by a minor child of 5 years or younger;
b) To provide a child resistant activation device that is user-friendly requiring only one (1) manipulation to achieve two (2) displacements which, first, unlocks the activation device and then, secondly, initiates the ignition mechanisms:
c) To provide a child resistant activation device that automatically returns to a static, locked condition after ignition is terminated and cannot be accidentally ignited;
d) To provide a simplified child resistant activation device that does not use a complex arrangement of several parts and elements (for example, latch elements, lock elements with springs, separate lock members, blocking elements, press buttons, and similar locking elements), that can easily break down;
e) To provide a child resistant activation device with a simplified construction and design that integrates the locking, unlocking, and ignition systems in the most economical and cost effective way;
f) To provide a child resistant activation device which, if it becomes inoperable, renders the lighter inoperable;
g) To provide a child resistant activation device that can be adapted to the greatest range of piezoelectric lighter embodiments in the art.
The invention is embodied in a standard piezoelectric lighter with an elongated outer body casing defining a fuel reservoir enclosed by an inner casing, a fuel dispensing assembly consisting of a fuel line with a valve that regulates the flow of fuel to a burner atop the fuel assembly. The fuel line is wrapped with a coiled spring to provide resistance to a gas lever that opens the valve. The outer body casing also houses a telescopic piezoelectric unit set in a piezoelectric unit casing. The inner telescopic portion of the piezoelectric unit is fitted at the top with a cap with opposite sidewalls forming flaps that extend downward. The flaps articulate with and rest above the pronged end of a gas lever that extends from the fuel line valve to the bottom portion of the piezoelectric unit. When the upper, telescopic part of the piezoelectric unit is pressed downward, it telescopes within the larger bottom portion of the unit and an electric spark is emitted into the area of the burner via a spark conductor. Simultaneously, the gas lever fitted to the valve is rotated upward, opening the valve and releasing fuel into the burner through the fuel line when the flaps of the piezoelectric unit cap press downward on the pronged end of the gas lever fitted to the piezoelectric unit, creating a see-saw movement that rotates the other end of the gas lever upward. At that end, the gas lever rests on a fulcrum post and is similarly fitted to the fuel line beneath the valve by means of two prongs. This process results in a controllable flame. When the downward force on the gas lever prongs fitted to the piezoelectric unit ceases or lessens, the coiled spring wrapping the fuel line drives that end of the gas lever downward to its original resting position, thereby closing the valve and terminating the flow of fuel
The top of the lighter is defined by a middle casing which houses the burner and upper portion of the fuel dispensing assembly. The middle casing also serves as a wind-guard. Atop the middle casing is the child-safe activating device, an actuator consisting of a top cap with two molded, integrally formed connecting arms that extend downward on both sides of a middle post. The upper part of the connecting arms has molded, integrally formed finger-like projections that rest on the cap fitted atop the piezoelectric unit when assembled. The lower, free ends of the connecting arms are configured to define elongated, angled slots. The connecting arms are connected on opposite ends of the middle post by a connecting rod running through the middle post to the angled slots. When pressure is applied to the top cap, sliding it downward, the connecting arms pivot on the connecting rod, rotating the connecting arm slots to a vertical position. This displacement permits a further rotation of the top cap (i.e., unlocks the ignition, or cocks the ignition); further downward pressure on the top cap activates the ignition system as the pressure is translated to the piezoelectric unit through the action of finger-like projections resting above or on the piezoelectric unit cap.
Thus, in order to activate the ignition system, the user must apply a continuous and increasing pressure to the top cap to move the connecting arms to actuation position that will allow downward pressure to be placed on the piezoelectric unit cap which will initiate the ignition systems. This first displacement moves the angled slot of the connecting arms to a vertical position and the connecting rod to the top of the slot. The second displacementxe2x80x94the ignition process described hereinabovexe2x80x94can then occur.
This child-safe activating device heightens resistance to minor children as a result of the force necessary to unlock or cock the connecting arms and the additional force necessary to activate the piezoelectric unit and release the fuel. The effectiveness of this safety feature has been established by certification with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.